ImmigrationLocal enforcement of immigration law does not achieve intended goals

A new study found that when local law enforcement agencies begin to inquire immigrants about their immigration status, some immigrants relocate within the United States but few go back relocate to their home country. Those who move to other states tend to be educated – and legally in the United States. The only exception is Arizona’s Maricopa County — which made a name for itself owing to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s controversial approach to immigration policies — where immigrants are likely to leave the country, perhaps due to unusually intense enforcement and a short distance to the border.

A new study by economist Tara Watson found that when local law enforcement agencies begin to inquire immigrants about their immigration status, some immigrants relocate within the United States but few go back to their home country.

The study, which was done in collaboration with the National Bureau of Economic Research, also found that those most likely to relocate within the United States are the more educated immigrants — who, in any event, are more likely to be in the United States legally – a group which is not the intended target of policies aiming to verify the legal status of immigrants.

The Los Angeles Timesreports that the study found that only in the case of Arizona’s Maricopa County, which made a name for itself owing to the Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s controversial approach to immigration policies, were immigrants likely to abandon the country, perhaps due to unusually intense enforcement and a short distance to the border.

“After the extreme case of Maricopa County is excluded, there is no evidence that local enforcement causes the foreign-born to exit the United States or deters their entry from abroad,” wrote Watson.

The Timessuggests that the findings are likely to add fuel to the debate over the effectiveness of immigration policing enforcement by local law agencies. During the last decade, several state and local law enforcement agencies have signed agreements allowing them to enforce some federal immigration laws. Several of these law enforcement agencies allowed police to demand that individuals offer proof of immigration status if police officers had reasonable cause to suspect immigration violations. The Obama administration has ended these arrangements, but questions about their effectiveness are relevant as states propose their own immigration enforcement measures.

Watson estimated that local enforcement of federal immigration laws made immigrants twice as likely to relocate within the country. During the peak years for such practices, an additional 15,000 immigrants ages eighteen to forty-nine chose to relocate. Between 2005 and 2010, that added to 50,000 immigrants relocating — “a small change that didn’t drastically affect their overall distribution,” according to the study.